


Shade's of Blue

by MadeofValor



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-13 01:38:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7957159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadeofValor/pseuds/MadeofValor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes all it takes is one person to open a world to new possibilities.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shade's of Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue is a terrible conversationist, yet this girl at the laundromat doesn't seem to mind.

The two of them? Their first meeting wasn't in a class at college, it wasn't at a coffee shop or even in the library. Nor was it at some party they both were invited to or a bar one of them worked at and the other was curious about. Their first meeting wasn't like how all the books she'd read said they'd be like. They first met in a ratty, old laundromat just a few blocks away from campus.

It hadn't even been anything special. Their first meeting, that was. Let alone something romantic that set a spark off between them. It had been brief and terribly awkward. A single conversation between them that had felt forced, set up just to pass the time as the machines droned on. It was filled with the most basic questions, just a hello, nice to meet you, what year are you in. The simple questions two college students would ask each other with no real interest to go on.

When they met it was the middle of the day on Friday. Blue Diamante had just finished with her last class of the day and now had the entire weekend free to study in peace and to generally avoid the rest of the bustling student body. As per usual of her schedule, something she tried to stick to unless impossible, she had gone straight to her dorm and had gathered up her laundry in its basket and made her way to the laundromat off campus

Of course there were washers and dryers on her dorm floor, two of each to be precise, but it was just always in use by other students, or had clothes in them for hours because their owners forgot about them. Besides, the laundromat she frequented was so much cheaper than the ones her dorms offered. Fifty cents per machine compared to the dollar twenty-five of her dorms? It was a way better deal when she thought about it. Plus, it gave her privacy.

Though, the cheap prices and lack of people was probably because the laundromat was in such poor condition.

Most of the machines were busted, completely unusable while another good portion just barely ran, and when they did they destroyed the clothes in them. Blue had since memorized which machines to use and which ones to avoid, so she didn't have to worry about that, at least until her usual machines broke. To add to the list of things wrong, the place wasn't exactly the cleanest either. It was something Blue still had trouble dealing with—she generally cringed away from filth and wasn't comfortable in dirty places—but she was starting to be able to ignore that factor of the place.

The laundromat was almost always empty, she rarely even saw any employees sticking around, sometimes doubted there was anyone who worked here. But, Blue couldn't she hated the isolation, being able to do her laundry without others around was a blessing to her.

She was given her space. She was given peace and quiet away from the other students, the bustling crowds and the loud noises. It was a comfort to be alone, a comfort she rarely found on campus. She didn't have to worry that the people around her were talking about her behind her back, or were going to approach her to ask her questions or tease her because there was no one else here.

Blue made her way into the small building, placed between a liquor store and an empty building waiting to be rented out. As she pushed the glass door open, the bell that hung above it gave no sound except for the creaking of the door hinges. As she expected, there wasn't anyone else inside.

Adjusting her grip on her basket, Blue made her way down the rows of old washers and dryers until she made it to her usual machine. Old Reliable as she dubbed it, the machine she had found worked the best in this place, even if it's condition was just as poor as the rest. It was a terribly dented washer, missing it's dial which made it impossible to change any of the settings, but, it had the highest success rate of actually washing her clothes rather than just eating her quarters and not giving her anything in return.

She liked this machine the best.

Opening the lid, she got to work putting her clothes in there. She was careful to do it one at a time so that she could make sure there was nothing pinned to the clothes or left in the pockets that might ruin the load. As she was pulling some loose change from a pair of jeans, she noticed that the laundromat wasn't as silent as it generally was. In fact, there was the familiar hum and rattling of a dryer already in use.

Pausing in the middle of her actions, she leaned over the machine to get a glimpse into the next row.

One of the dryers was shaking up a storm as it worked to dry the fabrics within, and sitting in front of it was a girl. She was crouched down, knees drawn up to her chest as she stared intently at the machine. She didn't look that much older than Blue, and her blue hair looked familiar. She would have sworn that she'd seen her around on campus, so was she another student?

Before the other patron could notice Blue watching her, the skinny woman quickly returned to her own task, placing the jeans into the washer and moving on with a blue blouse. She finished up quickly and placed a packet of detergent and softener into the machine. As the machine started running, she filled the one next to it with her remaining clothes, which were just whites and consisted mostly of socks, undershirts and some undergarments.

With the old contraptions stirring to life and shaking rather violently, Blue heard a quiet yelp from behind them. She had probably startled the other girl with the machines. Blue whispered a faint apology, not that it was probably heard as she slunk off with her basket to one of the old tables in the corner of the room.

She had about a half an hour before the washer was done... give or take a few minutes.

She rested her backpack inside the basket and pulled out a textbook and notebook from it. Blue always studied when she was waiting for her laundry to be done and this was no exception. She flipped to her marked page and opened to a clean sheet of notebook paper as she started to read the text and jotting down anything that struck her as important, along with her own interpretation of it's meaning.

There was a quiz on Monday for this particular class, and if she didn't pass said quiz she'd be rewarded with fury from her mother. That was more than enough motivation for her to study hard.

Eventually, after what felt like an eon of reading and writing notes, a sensation of being watched ran down her spine.

She glanced up and found a pair of bright blue eyes staring down at her from between the rows of machines. The other girl must have gotten curious as to who else was in such a run down place to do laundry, but Blue wished that the stranger would stop staring at her. She didn't like it when eyes were on her, and this was no exception. What was worse, she felt like this blue haired stranger was staring right into her soul.

Maybe if she tried to ignore it, the person would get bored and look away, find someone else to stare at.

But, quiet footsteps approached her instead.

"Hello."

Blue jolted in her seat, nearly dropping her pencil in her surprise before she looked up timidly at the woman standing before her. A smile was stretched across her face as she held a hand up halfway in a greeting. Her skin was tanned by hours and hours of the sun and bathed in freckles. Her hair was even an even brighter shade of blue now that she was closer.

Swallowing hard, Blue glanced down, "Oh, hello?" she greeted, her own voice soft and uncertain. Talking to other people and just... just any social interaction in general, it really wasn't her strong point, and this time was no exception. The only people she ever was able to hold a regular conversation with was with her family, and even that was tense and awkward on her part, with her fumbling over or forcing out her words.

The smile on the others face seemed to grow as she took a seat across from Blue at the table, "Sorry for interrupting you, but, I saw you and wanted to say hi," she explained as she rested an arm on the table and leaned back in her chair, "I've never seen you around here before, hardly anyone is ever here, so I thought that it wouldn't hurt to strike up a conversation."

"Y-yeah," the lanky girl replied weakly, "I... um... that's why I come here. B-because no one is here, I mean. ...Usually."

Though she was stumbling over her words and speaking so quietly it might be hard to hear, the blue haired girl didn't seem to mind, "It's a good place to get away from the crowds, and there's less of a chance of someone going through your laundry basket and stealing your underwear," from the way she said it, Blue wondered if this girl had trouble with people stealing her underwear before. But the woman was back to looking at her, and it felt as though she were sizing Blue up. It made her want to shrink back even farther than she was already at, "Are you a student here?" she asked after a pause, nodding to the text books."

"Yes."

Another smile, "Cool. Same. I'm a second year. Art major," she said, "and you?"

Blue fidgeted in her seat and looked back at her textbooks. It would be awfully rude if she went back to studying instead of conversing at this point, no matter how much she wanted to do something to distract her from this, "I... undecided," she said. Her mother wanted her to go into something that could be useful for business, like her eldest cousin did. Accounting, maybe marketing. She wasn't really sure yet what major she'd choose. Something that would please her mother, that was certain. "I'm a... this is my first year."

"Ah! Fresh meat, just what we upperclassmen love," she said laughing and giving a playful bite in the air. Blue nervously laughed at her joke, she hoped it was a joke, "But, yeah. I do hope you stick around for the rest of the college years. This is a pretty great university."

"I... I will, don't worry," it had been highly recommended to her when she was in high school, not to mention it allowed her some space from home.

Before either could say or ask anything else, a ding shot up from the dryer and the woman quickly hopped out of her seat, "Well, that would be me. Time to see if my clothes have become all toasty warm or if the Dryer Monster destroyed them all," she said as she hoped on over to the machine.

Blue found herself watching as the woman folded her clothes into the basket and letting out a loud proclamation that the 'Dryer Monster' did not strike this time. She bid Blue a quick farewell as she tucked the basket under her arm, "It was nice meeting you," she said as she pressed a hand against the door, "maybe I'll see you around again."

She was gone after Blue gave a quiet nod. She knew that her farewell was more out of politeness than sincerity, after all why would this stranger want to meet Blue again? Not that it bothered her, it was just how the world worked.

A couple of dings came from the two washers she was using not long after and Blue slid out from her chair and made her way over to them, transferring them over to the dryer. Her heard was still drumming in her chest, the anxiety over the conversation still running through her. Well, it wasn't like she'd run into that girl again, she hoped not at least.


End file.
